The third membership meeting of the Boyce Railway Depot Foundation (BRDF) was convened at 3:05 PM on Saturday, November 16th, 2019. Attendees were online via a FreeConferenceCall call-in telephone number. Frank Scheer – Secretary presided and there were two attendees: Robert C. Moore and Frank R. Scheer. This constituted a quorum for the annual membership meeting.
A membership report was presented. Between the 2016 incorporation and September 30th, 2019, 94 member certificates have been issued.
A treasury report was the next topic. BRDF funds are held in a Bank of Clarke County checking account that was set up for the Foundation during 2016. The account balance as of September 30th, 2018, was $206.48. The funds received as membership dues and donations have been used to pay utility invoices presented by Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, Verizon, and Clarke County Sanitary Authority for electricity, telephone plus DSL, and the sewer connection at Boyce depot.
Year in Review and Planning Ahead:
The principal projects for the year ahead are:
- Relocation of the Railway Mail Service Library collection from the depot to a new building;
- Removal of other non-railroad related materiel from the station building; and,
- Applying for a matching funds grant for repairing ceiling plaster in the records room and agent’s office.
There will be an appeal for one or more volunteers to repaint the depot exterior. Other volunteer projects that can be undertaken are:
- Replacement of approximately 40 windows cracked, broken, or missing panes and glazing about 95 panes;
- Monthly mowing and trimming of the depot grounds;
- Replacing the decayed wooden siding on the pump house walls and repainting that structure.
A Morse Day open-house membership event is planned for Saturday, April 25th, between noon and 3 PM. Current and newly-joined members can attend the cook-out and view a Morse telegraph demonstration in the agent’s office, exhibiting railroad communications during the early 1900s. A one-day commemorative pictorial postmark has been approved. This postmark can be imprinted upon postcards purchased for fund-raising as well as your own mailable first-class items. There is also a table of Boyce town artwork offered by a Berryville artist.
Your membership fees and donations have covered the monthly utility expenses as well as the real estate taxes. The Norfolk Southern land lease and insurance premiums continue to be covered by my own donations to the foundation. More importantly, your active interest in preserving Boyce depot will assure its continuing as a cornerstone in Clarke County history.
Robert Moore, chair of the nominating committee, presented a list of nominations for BRDF Directors. The nominees were:
- Fran Barker
- Quinton Barker
- Robert Moore
- Dan Rollyson
- Pearl Rollyson
- Frank Scheer
Additional nominations from attendees were requested but none were presented by the attending members. Robert Moore submitted six proxies from Lewis Leigh, Jr., Donald Trump, Rodney Juell, Gerald Clearwater, Charles Torpy, and Carole Torpy which were voted in favor of the directors slate. A vote of members attending the meeting approved the nominations by acclamation.
The newly-elected Directors will hold their annual meeting during January 2020. At the meeting, Directors will determine which will fill the two-each one-year, two-year, and three-year terms. They will also vote on who will fill the President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer positions. One person may fill two offices, such as Vice President and Secretary. The current Board of Directors and Officers will complete their incumbencies on April 30th and be replaced by the 2020 officers on May 1st. The 2019 officers will hold their offices until April 30, 2021.
There was no “old business” remaining from the 2019 Annual Membership Meeting.
Adjournment was moved by Robert Moore and seconded by Frank Scheer. A unanimous vote followed and the meeting ended at 3:15 PM.
Respectfully submitted
Frank R. Scheer
Secretary